ABSTRACTaKlotho is a multifunctional protein highly expressed in the kidney. Soluble aKlotho is released through cleavage of the extracellular domain from membrane aKlotho by secretases to function as an endocrine/paracrine substance. The role of the kidney in circulating aKlotho production and handling is incompletely understood, however. Here, we found higher aKlotho concentration in suprarenal compared with infrarenal inferior vena cava in both rats and humans. In rats, serum aKlotho concentration dropped precipitously after bilateral nephrectomy or upon treatment with inhibitors of aKlotho extracellular domain shedding. Furthermore, the serum half-life of exogenous aKlotho in anephric rats was four-to five-fold longer than that in normal rats, and exogenously injected labeled recombinant aKlotho was detected in the kidney and in urine of rats. Both in vivo (micropuncture) and in vitro (proximal tubule cell line) studies showed that aKlotho traffics from the basal to the apical side of the proximal tubule via transcytosis. Thus, we conclude that the kidney has dual roles in aKlotho homeostasis, producing and releasing aKlotho into the circulation and clearing aKlotho from the blood into the urinary lumen.

AKI confers increased risk of progression to CKD. aKlotho is a cytoprotective protein, the expression of which is reduced in AKI, but the relationship of aKlotho expression level to AKI progression to CKD has not been studied. We altered systemic aKlotho levels by genetic manipulation, phosphate loading, or aging and examined the effect on long-term outcome after AKI in two models: bilateral ischemia-reperfusion injury and unilateral nephrectomy plus contralateral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Despite apparent initial complete recovery of renal function, both types of AKI eventually progressed to CKD, with decreased creatinine clearance, hyperphosphatemia, and renal fibrosis. Compared with wild-type mice, heterozygous aKlotho-hypomorphic mice (aKlotho haploinsufficiency) progressed to CKD much faster, whereas aKlotho-overexpressing mice had better preserved renal function after AKI. High phosphate diet exacerbated aKlotho deficiency after AKI, dramatically increased renal fibrosis, and accelerated CKD progression. Recombinant aKlotho administration after AKI accelerated renal recovery and reduced renal fibrosis. Compared with wild-type conditions, aKlotho deficiency and overexpression are associated with lower and higher autophagic flux in the kidney, respectively. Upregulation of autophagy protected kidney cells in culture from oxidative stress and reduced collagen 1 accumulation. We propose that aKlotho upregulates autophagy, attenuates ischemic injury, mitigates renal fibrosis, and retards AKI progression to CKD.

Aging is an inevitable and progressive biological process involving dysfunction and eventually destruction of every tissue and organ. This process is driven by a tightly regulated and complex interplay between genetic and acquired factors. Klotho is an antiaging gene encoding a single-pass transmembrane protein, klotho, which serves as an aging suppressor through a wide variety of mechanisms, such as antioxidation, antisenescence, antiautophagy, and modulation of many signaling pathways, including insulin-like growth factor and Wnt. Klotho deficiency activates Wnt expression and activity contributing to senescence and depletion of stem cells, which consequently triggers tissue atrophy and fibrosis. In contrast, the klotho protein was shown to suppress Wnt-signaling transduction, and inhibit cell senescence and preserve stem cells. A better understanding of the potential effects of klotho on stem cells could offer novel insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of klotho deficiency-related aging and disease. The klotho protein may be a promising therapeutic agent for aging and aging-related disorders.

C-reactive protein (CRP), was recently reported to be closely associated with poor renal function in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), but whether CRP is pathogenic or a mere biomarker in AKI remains largely unclear. Impaired autophagy is known to exacerbate renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). We examined whether the pathogenic role of CRP in AKI is associated with reduction of autophagy. We mated transgenic rabbit CRP over-expressing mice (Tg-CRP) with two autophagy reporter mouse lines, Tg-GFP-LC3 mice (LC3) and Tg-RFP-GFP-LC3 mice (RG-LC3) respectively to generate Tg-CRP-GFP-LC3 mice (PLC3) and Tg-CRP-RFP-GFP-LC3 mice (PRG-LC3). AKI was induced by IRI. Compared with LC3 mice, PLC3 mice developed more severe kidney damage after IRI. Renal tubules were isolated from LC3 mice at baseline for primary culture. OKP cells were transiently transfected with GFP-LC3 plasmid. CRP addition exacerbated lactate dehydrogenase release from both cell types. Immunoblots showed lower LC-3 II/I ratios and higher levels of p62, markers of reduced autophagy flux, in the kidneys of PLC3 mice compared to LC3 mice after IRI, and in primary cultured renal tubules and OKP cells treated with CRP and H2O2 compared to H2O2 alone. Immunohistochemistry showed much fewer LC-3 punctae, and electron microscopy showed fewer autophagosomes in kidneys of PLC3 mice compared to LC3 mice after IRI. Similarly, CRP addition reduced GFP-LC3 punctae induced by H2O2 in primary cultured proximal tubules and in GFP-LC3 plasmid transfected OKP cells. Rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, rescued impaired autophagy and reduced renal injury in vivo. In summary, it was suggested that CRP be more than mere biomarker in AKI, and render the kidney more susceptible to ischemic/oxidative injury, which is associated with down-regulating autophagy flux.